This review is well overdue. I’ve been hit with my fair share of illness over the last few weeks, so getting myself to a computer, let alone forming coherent thoughts about gigs past, was an ask. However, I’m drugged up enough on a chemical cocktail to keep the symptoms of my middle ear infection at bay so it’s time to put fingers to keyboard.
I really wish I wasn’t sick on April 18. I was so psyched for my final gig at Lizotte’s Kincumber, but with a nasty cold taking over my body getting myself there was a slog. Thank god for kind trivia buddies who assumed the driving duties.
It might have been the illness that left me a little underwhelmed by support act Glenn Watson. He was a cutie and he had a guitar, which were two ticks against his name, but something about his music just didn’t rev me. There was the occasional track that I enjoyed, but his set didn’t quite get out of second gear for me, or for the crowd who kept their conversations buzzing throughout his performance. Perhaps if he played more of the covers he promised (at the end we just heard a little of Coldplay’s “Fix You” during one of his originals) maybe he would have brought us back.
I was a bit worried that even Mark Seymour couldn’t rouse me out of my illness funk, but I needn’t have been concerned. That man has such gravitas. He really was the perfect artist to see for my last show at the Cubby House. He played acoustic with a buddy whose name escapes me, which is a shame because their harmonies were sublime. The set was punctuated with Hunters & Collectors classics, but there were plenty of solo songs that I was less familiar with. Lizotte’s is the sort of place to hear that type of music. It’s a small venue, a quiet venue, the kind of place that draws you in and encourages you to listen to the lyrics. God they were good. I appreciated that just as much as singing along to the biggies like “Throw Your Arms Around Me” and “Holy Grail.”
I really wish I could have been in better spirits for my last Lizotte’s show. I am going to miss that venue like no other. Thank god Lizotte’s Newcastle is a relatively short drive down the freeway, because New South Wales needs places like this where you can really hear artists and enjoy some of the best food and wine around. Lizotte’s Kincumber might be gone, but Coasties must remember that Lizotte’s in Newcastle lives on.
Image source: own photos